When we awake
by Death Waltz
Summary: Sakura doesn't join the Akatsuki because she was framed and tortured by her own village. No. It's because she supports their ideals. World peace can only be achieved by rebuilding on the destruction of the ninja world.


**When we awake**

**Chapter 1**

The gates rose high in the distance. Naruto could see clearly the hokage tower and the faces of the hokages carved from the surface of the rock that nestled beside konoha. He grinned broadly, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hurry up pervy sage! Man you're slow! I can't wait to see everyone." The blonde giggled to himself.

Jiraiya looked a bit cross as he tackled the last of the incline leading to the edge of the outcrop where they could see their tiny village way out amongst the see of trees. Jiraiya huffed and slumped over, trying to catch his breath. He wasn't getting any younger that was for sure.

"How about you…huff…go on ahead." He panted. "I'll catch up later." He then flopped down on the grass, not intending on getting up for the next few years. Keeping up with the energetic blonde for three days was a trying experience. He didn't think Naruto would be this enthusiastic when he'd told him it was time to go home. But the boy was a social animal, he thrived on his friendships. It must have been killing him to leave them behind all those years ago.

"Aw, you're pathetic."

Jiraiya felt an eyebrow twitch but wouldn't relent. He was fine right where he was.

But Naruto was having none of that. With speed and strength he hadn't possessed before he'd done his training, he yanked his teacher up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him as he ran.

"Come on pervy sage! You can rest when we get there!"

"Na-Naruto," Jiraiya choked out, trying to create room between his shirt and his windpipe. "You idiot. Ach! Let go!"

Naruto either didn't hear or chose just not to hear for he kept at his mad pace towards his home village.

* * *

The guards at the entrance were standing on high alert. Leaning back in their chairs one man was chewing on a senbon while the other occasionally took sips from the cup of coffee he'd had a young genin just recently deliver to him.

With a smile the latter guards threw down his hand and declared, "I win!"

The man with the senbon sighed and threw his hands up in the air before resting them behind his neck. "Yeah, you win." He said dully, not at all liking the turn of events. He'd been on a streak before they'd started betting. Goes to show what a little incentive can do to a person.

Again he sighed when he saw the other man holding out his hand waiting for his winnings.

"Hand it over Shiranui. That's going to buy my dinner for the day after tomorrow."

Genma roughly tossed the coins across the table and the other man snatched them out of the air. That was 7 meals he'd just bought him. And it was 7 good meals that he'd lost for himself. He wasn't too into cheap prepackaged meals, but given the situation he could afford nothing else. He was damn near broke.

Suddenly the other man was jumping to his feet his winnings momentarily forgotten.

"Is that - that is!" he hollered.

Genma turned in his chair to see what the fuss was about. He stared through Konoha's gates and his teeth momentarily lost their grip on the senbon.

"Yo, Naruto! Hey!" his companion called out while waving.

Naruto shot like a bullet through the gates and came to a halt before the two ninja, dropping his teacher in the process. Jiraiya soon had his face planted to the ground. He grumbled then got to his feet, wiping the dust off his clothes.

"Genma! Kotetsu! Wow, it's been a while hasn't it!" beamed Naruto, scratching the back of his neck while flashing his teeth.

Genma smiled and leaned back in his chair. "I see you finally decided to come home." His eyes glanced heavenwards. "That makes one of them." He murmured quietly.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing." Genma defended awkwardly. "So, how did your training go? You've been away for five years. You must have a lot of new techniques hiding up your sleeves."

Naruto laughed. "You got that right. I can beat all of your asses single-handedly. I not the weak kid that I was before. Believe it!"

Jiraiya chose this moment to interrupt. He coughed into his hand. "We better get going. Still have to see the Hokage you know." He grinned boyishly. "How is Tsunade doing anyways?"

Genma and Kotetsu shared a look.

"Decent, I suppose. With a certain group making appearances all of the sudden it's getting a bit stressful for her. You'd be mad to visit while she's doing her paperwork. Nearly got a stapler-shaped hole through my chest one time."

"Ah, good old Tsunade. A woman after my own heart." Jiraiya proclaimed.

Something seemed to spark in Naruto's mind and at once he was bouncing on his feet, face awash in excitement. "Hey hey, what about Sakura? How's she been doing all these years?"

The two gate-guards found themselves sharing another glance, albeit a darker more pressing one.

Naruto was teetering on the balls of his feet. "Did she get stronger? I can't wait to sparr against her. I haven't had anyone good enough to fight me in so long. Sure, pervy-sage was around all the time, but after a while it's really repetitive, and I know all his moves. I bet Sakura's changed a lot since I was gone."

Genma gulped and nodded with a shaky smile in place. "Yeah, she's changed."

Thankfully, Naruto didn't seem to notice both guards sudden nervousness, however Jiraiya was eyeing them in thought.

"Anyway, we better get going." Naruto chuckled. "I bet grandma Tsunade will be shocked when she see's me."

He then took off towards the Hokage tower, leaving Jiraiya in the dust. Jiraiya cast a suspicious glance at the two guards.

"Did something…happen around here?" he asked lowly.

Genma clenched his teeth over the point of the senbon, while Kotetsu simply averted his eyes. Both of them were tight-lipped.

"Because if there is something, it would be wise for you to tell us before someone get's hurt finding it out the hard way."

Seeing as they were not relenting Jiraiya turned to go after Naruto.

"See you later then." And he meant it. If anything hurtful happened to Naruto he'd be back and there'd be hell to pay.

* * *

"Aw man. Life of a Hokage is hard, I know, but she could have at least taken one second to see me." Naruto groaned as he wandered the street hoping to run into a few of his old friends.

As luck would have it, the InoShikaCho team along with Hinata were headed his way. He laughed, and ran to meet them.

Shikamaru was the first to notice him. "Naruto is that you?" He said incredulously.

This got everyone else's attention and then came a swarm of limbs as each scrambled for contact with the blonde, hugging and back slapping and ruffling of the hair.

"It's about time." Said Ino loudly. "Give or take a few months and Lady Tsunade would have sent a team out to fetch you." She leaned forward and said in a hushed voice. "Akatsuki's on the move again. It looks like their collecting the rest of the jinchuriki."

"She's right." Said Shikamaru. "Lady Hokage will want you closer to home."

Naruto scoffed audibly. "Hah, they're nothing compared to me now."

"Shouldn't be too cocky." Choji said, munching on his chips.

"Heh heh." Naruto laughed uneasily. "Anyways, how about we catch up over some ramen! I don't know how I've lived without ichiraku's."

"Sure."

"I see no problem with that." Replied Shikamaru.

By Choji's raised hand Naruto assumed that he was in as well. Now as for the last person…

Hinata had barely spoken a word so far. At Naruto's questioning glance she averted her eyes and glowed a bright red.

"Well, Hinata? You coming with us?"

Hesitantly she nodded. Naruto grinned broadly.

"Alright!" said Naruto, then he remembered something. "Hey, you guys head over there, I'll catch you up in a minute."

"Where are you going?" asked Ino.

Naruto shrugged. "Just wanted to pick something up first. I won't be long."

"If you're sure." Said Shikamaru as he turned to go. "See you later."

"Yeah."

As they left, Naruto started walking in the opposite direction towards a store that had caught his eye on the way to the Hokage tower. He surveyed the booth then found what he was looking for. He paid for it then started flipping through the pages as he walked to the ramen shop.

"I'm way too outdated. Most civilian villages only sell the old copies. I don't…think…"

The bingo book was trembling in his hands. No, it was his hands that were trembling. His knuckles turned stark white as the grip on the pages increased. His eyes widened considerably in disbelief, his breath caught in his throat.

"Oy, Naruto! You lunatic, I thought you were going to see the Tsunade." Jiraiya appeared in the street, taking his time.

Naruto bit his bottom lip and hissed. "It's not true."

Jiraiya looked at him queerly. "Say what?"

He bolted. Naruto ran furiously, dodging all the civilians of the street, ignoring Jiraiya's calls behind him as his teacher suddenly found the energy to run after him. He didn't believe it. He wouldn't. It's not true.

Tears seeped through his eyes and left stark trails down his cheeks. He hardly felt them. He was numb to everything around him. He didn't stop as he came to the ramen shop, running right past his friends.

"Hey Naruto where're you going?" Shikamaru called out.

He didn't stop. Only when he burst into Tsunade's office did he halt. He leaned heavily on the doorknob as he caught his breath.

Tsunade spilled her cup of sake, startled. Soon the room was crowding with everyone who'd followed Naruto. Kakashi was already there, standing in front of Tsunade's desk having been interrupted whilst giving his report.

Kakashi saw Naruto and his single visible eye widened, and bulged all the more as he saw what Naruto had in his hands.

"It's not true!' Naruto yelled. "Tell me it's not true."

Tsunade ran a hand over her face and sighed deeply. "I assume you know then."

Naruto looked behind him to Shikamaru, Ino, Choji and Hinata, as if seeking assurance. By their downcast expression he could tell that it wasn't forthcoming. Jiraiya stepped into the room looking disgruntled.

"What's this about Naruto, you took off so suddenly."

Naruto slammed the bingo book down on the Hokage's desk, his finger pressing on the open page. Jiraiya saw whose face was there and cursed.

"How? How did this happen. I-" Naruto gasped, tears pouring down his face. "Why her?!"

Tsunade slammed her fist down, creating a crack along her desk. "What do you want me to say? I'm not going to lie to you Naruto. Yes it's true. Sakura has been a missing nin for three years."

"You've been gone for too long Naruto." Said Kakashi. "Things have changed."

"But how?"

Shikamaru stepped up to take the pressure from Tsunade and Kakashi. He spoke with a clear straight voice. "Three years ago Sakura was declared a traitor to Konoha. The interrogators found her guilty and she was to be kept prisoner for the rest of her life. Later, as she was being led back to her cell, she escaped and hasn't been seen or heard of since."

Naruto took a step back as if struck. He stared down at the open page of the bingo book. Sakura's face gazed out. Beside it was a small description and he status as a B-ranked missing nin.

"No." hissed Naruto, and buried his face in his hands.

First Sasuke and now Sakura.

* * *

_My second story, I'm not even close to finishing the first one. _

_I think Naruto is initially supposed to be gone for 2 years. This is a kind of situation where "what if he'd been gone for a little longer". Also, Orochimaru's possession of Sasuke's body will be pushed back, as well everything else concerning the timeline._

_Criticism is only welcome on a good note and only if it concerns my particular style of writing. I would appreciate it if you did not criticize the plot line, but that doesn't mean you can't make comments on it.  
_

_DWaltz  
_


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